F Notice of Rulemaking Procedures

Model rocketry contests in the United States are governed by the U.S. Model Rocket Sporting Code, a booklet known as The Pink Book. The rules in the Pink Book are revised every two years. The procedures published here explain how the rules are rewritten, and how you can have a voice in the process. The NAR Contest Board oversees the project. If you have questions about the Pink Book revision process, contact the NAR Rules Revision Chairman.

F.1. Purpose

The purpose of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) Procedures is to assist the NAR Contest Board in effectively monitoring and accomplishing rules revisions. The responsibility of the Contest Board is to provide standards and policy which will promote the healthy development of the hobby of model rocketry.

F.2. Rules Proposal

Proposals submitted in the NPRM process should be reviewed for ambiguities in scoring, judging, and interpretation which might create hardships at the contest for contestants and Contest Directors. Contest Board members should discuss proposals with as many modelers as possible to obtain a consensus of the merits or faults in the proposed new rules. Care should be taken to avoid generating rules that overlap or conflict with general rules covering all contest events.

F.3. Analysis of Proposals

The following are example criteria the Contest Board may use in analyzing each new rules proposal:

Manufacturing - Will current models or equipment tend to become obsolete or no longer useful?
Protests - Will the change tend to eliminate a source of protests or are protests more likely?
Model Processing Time - Will the change tend to increase or decrease time required to process models at a meet?
Designs - Will the builder be given more or less freedom in design?
Contests - Will the time and effort required to conduct a contest be increased or decreased?
Present models - Will a modeler be able to effectively compete with current models, or will he have to build new ones?
Effect on Competition - Will the net effect of the proposed change be to encourage or discourage contest participation?
Effect on Skill Level - Will the modeler be encouraged to develop new skills and construction techniques?

F.4. Schedule

These procedures provide for a one-year schedule. Additional one-year schedules are commenced with the start of each odd-numbered Contest Year following adoption of these procedures.

F.5. Advisory Committees to the Contest Board

Advisory committees and their Chairmen may be appointed by the National Contest Board Chairman to assist the Contest Board. They will operate in accordance with the Contest Board Procedures.

Maximum utilization of existing special interest groups or individuals should be made in selecting advisory committee members. The tenure of advisory committees will be determined by the appointing authority. The National Contest Board Chairman may find it desirable to appoint a Chairman to oversee the Rules Revision process (Rules Revision Chairman or RRC) and the Provisional Events activities since their focus is somewhat more specialized than general Contest Board operation.

F.6. Proposal Preparation and Submittal

Any NAR member may submit a Rules Change proposal by filing a completed Rules Change Proposal Form with the Rules Revision Chairman (RRC). Upon receipt of the proposal it will be reviewed by the RRC to assure that it has been properly submitted (clearly stated proposal, address, signature, filing fee). If the proposal, as submitted, does not pass the review, then it may be returned to the author along with a checklist explaining what is required to present it properly. The RRC will process the submittal in a timely manner and will send the author an acknowledgment of receipt within 30 days.

F.7. Types of Proposal

There are two basic types of proposals:

REGULAR RULES REVISION PROPOSAL - May be filed by any NAR member. If adopted, the new rules go into effect with the next edition of the Pink Book.
SAFETY, EMERGENCY, URGENT OR INTERPRETATION PROPOSALS - May be filed by any NAR member, but because of the relatively longer time required to get a rule change through the normal process, there are alternate paths for legislation which may be enacted quickly if the situation dictates. The RRC will determine which of these various categories a proposal should fall into, based on the content of the proposal and the perceived dangers of delaying action on the proposal.

SAFETY Proposals addressing problems which might result in the loss of life, injury, or property damage will be given SAFETY status. The intent of SAFETY proposals is to quickly modify the rule to create a safer flying environment.

EMERGENCY Proposals addressing problems which might affect the integrity of the national competition structure will be given EMERGENCY status. The intent of an EMERGENCY proposal is to quickly modify an existing or proposed rule to prevent a drastic disruption to the Contest Year, National Championships, or to otherwise ensure all competitors can compete in a fair manner. EMERGENCY proposals may only be used when the time-sensitive nature of the issue does not allow the proposal to be processed under URGENT or REGULAR rules change proposals.

An URGENT proposal is one which is neither an interpretation nor is it necessarily related to safety. It will constitute an actual change in the rules and therefore the justification behind this type of proposal must be scrutinized, as always, to prevent abuse.

An INTERPRETATION proposal will not alter an existing rule but would provide information designed to clarify it. It deals with interpretations of the rules, or ways in which the rules are applied in the field. URGENT and INTERPRETATION proposals will be dealt with as described in (F8B) below.

F.8. General Procedure of Safety, Emergency, Urgent and Interpretation Proposals

(A) SAFETY or EMERGENCY Proposals may be put in force immediately if the National Contest Board Chairman, Rules Revision Chairman and the President concur that the action is necessary. Notice of the action and the rationale behind it will be published in the earliest possible issue of Official Journal of the NAR. Any SAFETY or EMERGENCY proposal enacted as set forth above will remain in effect under temporary status until acted upon by the Board of Trustees.

(B) URGENT or INTERPRETATION PROPOSALS Proposals may be put in force immediately if the National Contest Board Chairman, Regional Contest Board Chairman, and the Rules Revision Chairman concur that the action is necessary. Notice of the action and the rationale behind it will be published in the earliest possible issue of the Official Journal of the NAR.

Situations judged by the RRC as cases where rules do not seem to cover areas they should, may be applied to more than would be intended, or seem to lack the logic and/or intent, and do not qualify under part (A), and require immediate action may be enacted immediately based upon a 2/3 vote in favor of the Contest Board listed above.

If the proposal does not receive a majority for immediate action, it will be retained and is eligible for consideration as a Regular Rules revision in the normal two-year cycle. All requests for SAFETY, EMERGENCY, INTERPRETATION or URGENT rules shall be submitted on the standard proposal form or a facsimile that contains all of the required information. All SAFETY, EMERGENCY, INTERPRETATION or URGENT rules adopted by the National Contest Board will be included in the next printing of the Pink Book.

F.9. General Procedure or Regular Rules Revision Proposals

Upon receipt of a completed Rules Change Proposal Form, the RRC shall review the proposal for acceptability. He will insure that its intent is clearly stated and that the language and format is suitable for inclusion in the Pink Book. The proposal must not violate the Safety Code or general safety guidelines. If the new proposal affects more than one rule or event, then the author must clearly address each of the changes necessary to implement the proposal. If the proposal is deficient in any of these areas, then the RRC may return it to the author with comments or suggestions for presenting it properly. The RRC will process the submittal in a timely manner and will send the author an acknowledgment of receipt within 30 days.

F.10. Voting and Vote Tabulation

The reviewed proposals will be published in the Official Journal of the NAR and will be placed on the Final Vote ballot in the normal cycle for Regular Rules revisions. The publication will occur no less than three (3) months prior to the Final Vote so that there is ample time for the membership to discuss the merits of each proposal.

The Final Vote will be conducted by the RRC by means of a Ballot distributed in the Official Journal of the NAR. The Ballot will contain a listing of the proposals having passed the Initial Vote and it shall state the deadline for voting. The deadline shall be set so that it is no less than 30 days after the Ballot is in the hands of the membership.

Every NAR member is entitled to one vote. Only votes cast on the official Ballot form, or a facsimile thereof, will be tabulated. Each ballot must be signed by the voting member and show his/her NAR license number. Ballots postmarked after the stated deadline shall not be counted. The RRC will tabulate the votes cast for and against each individual proposal. Each proposal which receives two-thirds (66.7%) or greater will be deemed to have been approved and will be included in the upcoming Pink Book revision.

F.11. Proposal Editing

The RRC may, at any time prior to Pink Book publication, edit proposal wording for purposes of clarity or to minimize misunderstandings and ambiguities, where he deems it advisable. Whenever possible, editing should be done early in the rulemaking process. He shall not edit the proposal in such a manner that its intent is altered. The RRC shall inform the author in writing of the revised wording in a timely manner so that any potential conflicts will be resolved prior to publication deadlines. Should the member who submitted the proposal deem that such alteration of intent has occurred, and it cannot be resolved with the RRC, then the author may take further action as determined by the proposal’s progress in the rulemaking cycle:

Final Vote: For proposals having passed the RRC review and prior to the publication deadline for the Final Vote, the RRC shall include both the edited and unedited versions of the proposal on the Final Vote ballot.

Pink Book: For proposals having passed the Final Vote and prior to publication deadline for the Pink Book, the author may appeal the editing action to NAR Contest Board.

F.12. Proposal Withdrawal

The author of a proposal may make a request for withdrawal of such proposal with the RRC. Such a request shall not be accepted if the proposal has already been submitted for publication and membership review in the Official Journal of the NAR.

F.13. Revisions to NPRM Procedure

Revisions to the NPRM procedures shall require approval by the NAR Board of Trustees.

The suggested text of any proposed revision(s) shall first appear in the Official Journal of the NAR at least two (2) months prior to any vote to revise or amend the NPRM procedures so that relevant input from the NAR membership might be considered by the Board.

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